


A Family That Slays Together

by Iyearnforaplotadvancement



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Character Death, Drama, Sibling Driven Story, characterization, slight shipping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-04-30 20:08:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14504544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iyearnforaplotadvancement/pseuds/Iyearnforaplotadvancement
Summary: ...stay together. Family bonds are some of the strongest in the world. Some people find that out the hard way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who's back, back again, this kid's back, tell a friend. Or don't 
> 
> But yeah, hey guy, been a while. I was caught up in some stuff. Moved states, behind on deadlines, the norm stuff. But I'm here now and I have a new fic for y'all bout everyone's favorite killer family. 
> 
> Now I love religious themes in movies because I am religious. But what I love even more is the perversion of religion. So sit back, relax, and read this lil diddity. 
> 
> As always, comments are appreciated, let me know how you guys like it. And have a great day.

_Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate._

_~ Psalm 127:3-5_

 

“Deputy Park and...Deputy Park?” US Marshal Burke looked at the two people standing before him.

One was a slightly taller than the average woman with dark eyes and dark hair, a pale scar was barely visible on her upper lip. It made her look as if she were constantly pursing her mouth. Her eyes were adorned with dark lashes that gave the impression she was years younger than twenty-eight. Next to her stood a notably taller man who shared in her dark hair and eyes. His age showed quite visibly on his face and in his demeanor. Burke noted the tattoo on the man’s neck, but didn't care enough to ask.

The woman spoke first, “He’s my brother,” she said.

The man next to her nodded his head in affirmation.

Burke raised an eyebrow, “And they sent you both? Does your mom not give a shit about either of you?”

The man gave a small smile, “She certainly doesn’t play favorites,”

Burke rolled his eyes, feeling the day would be long already. He cleared his throat and looked back at his clipboard. “Okay, well I can’t be running around calling both of you Deputy Park,”

“Deputy Douglas is fine. Doug, if that’s a mouthful,” said the older Park sibling.

“Daphne or Daph is cool,” chimed in Douglas’s sister.

Burke rolled his eyes again, “Deputy Doug and Daphne. Fuck me…” the Marshal grumbled.

“You ain’t fucked yet, let me assure you,” came a smooth and deep voice from the other side of the room.

All three turned to look and all three saw Sheriff Earl Whitehorse ease into the room. The man was getting up there in age, but his gaze was as sharp as broken glass and his posture was that of a man whose spine was forged from steel. He gave the Park siblings a once over and licked his lips.

“Now why’d they send your sister, Doug?” asked Whitehorse.

“I’m from the next county over-,” Daphne began.

Whitehorse raised a gentle hand to stop her, “I asked my deputy, if you don’t mind, Deputy,”

“Are you concerned with her ability in the field, Sir? Because she was top of her class as well as a decorated officer in her own county. Came recommended-,” Douglas said.

“She’s a rookie, that’s what concerns me,” Whitehorse said, turning to Daphne. “These people we’re dealing with, they ain’t no run-of-the-mill nutjobs. They’re zealous nutjobs following some man who thinks he’s preparing people for The Second Coming. I need to trust you have the mental fortitude for this,”

Daphne nodded, “Don’t let me just tell you. Let me show you what I can do, Sir,”

“It better not be dying,” Burke mumbled.

“Let’s get to the chopper pad,” Whitehorse said, “Still time for y’all to back out,”

The three looked at him with grave faces and Whitehorse simply shook his head. “May God have mercy upon us,”

The four of them walked out into the warm, sticky air of the Montana countryside.

For the last five years Douglas Parker had been working his way up the ranks in the Hope County Police Department. An accomplished soldier from Iraq, he settled in the state of Montana hoping to take it easy and leave the war behind him. His sister worked just a few counties over, wanting to walk in the footsteps her big brother. At least that’s what he told people, much to her chagrin.

At the helicopter pad stood two other deputies; one a tall woman with dark hair and olive skin, and the other an average height man with sandy brown hair and a sharp nose. Whitehorse turned to the Marshal.

“Doug is already familiar with these two. They’re my two of my best deputies,” Whitehorse placed a hand on both their shoulders. “They’re also our pilots for the night,”

“Deputy Joey Hudson and Staci Pratt meet US Marshal Burke and Douglas’s sister, Deputy Daphne Park,”

Burke stepped forward to extend his hand to them, “A pleasure. Deputy Staci?” he asked, shaking the woman’s hand.

The deputy shook her head, “I’m Joey Hudson, he’s Staci Pratt,”

Marshal threw his hands up in the air, “Fuck me. Fuck it. I’m getting in the chopper,”

Whitehorse chuffed, “Excuse him, he’s not adjusted to Montana living quite yet,”

 

Fifteen minutes later they were up in the air. And twenty five minutes after they were nearly over the Henbane River.

Doug sat quietly, watching his sister’s face as she watched some of the first hand footage captured by an undercover officer’s body cam. Her face was expressionless, smooth. But slowly the wrinkles formed on her forehead and eyes as she watched Joseph Seed, The Father, carry out his sermon.

Doug knew just from her face alone what parts she was watching. He himself had watched that video over and over again for weeks straight. Daphne’s video feed cut to static as she cursed under her breath, trying in vain to get it back.

“Hey Rookie, Rookie. You’re wasting your time, there’s no signal out here,” Whitehorse said to her.

“Crossing over the Henbane now,” Burke said.

Daphne still fussed with her phone, but her attention and everyone else’s was attracted to the giant alabaster monument. Joseph Seed, a monument at least four stories tall, stood waving out over the wilderness of Hope County.

Daphne’s eyes went wide. She turned to Douglas in disbelief. He looked her in the eyes, his expression unreadable to others in the helicopter, but not to Daphne. They’d told her it would be a simple arrest. And now she knew that was shit.

“Oh fuck, there he is,” said Hudson.

“Crazy motherfucker,” Pratt added.

“Jesus…” Burke groaned.

“We’re officially in Peggie country,” Hudson warned.

“How much longer?” Burked asked.

“Just long enough for you to change your mind, so we can turn this bird around,” Whitehorse said.

“You want me to ignore a federal warrant, Sheriff?” Burke asked with disbelief.

“No, sir. I want you to understand the reality of this situation. Joseph Seed, he’s man to be fucked with. We’ve had run-ins with him before and they haven’t always gone our way. Just sometimes, sometimes it’s best to leave well enough alone,” Whitehorse said solemnly.

“Yeah well, we have laws for a reason, Sheriff. And Joseph Seed’s gonna learn that,” Burke promised.

“Pratt, open a call with dispatch,” Whitehorse said, “Whitehorse to Dispatch, over.”

A moment later a voice replied, “Go ahead, Earl,”

“We’re approaching the compound, Nancy. Over,”

“Roger that, Sheriff. You’re still planning to go through with this?” there was a slight hesitance in the dispatcher’s voice.

“We are, unfortunately, still trying to talk some sense into our friend The Marshal, over,”

The dispatcher’s voice waived, “Alright, he’s lucky I’m not there...you run into any trouble you just let me know, over,”

Daphne’s stomach pinched and pulled something awful. She looked at Doug, who she could tell was having the same reaction. Something was off.

Whitehorse signed off with dispatch.

“Maybe we should’ve brought along Nancy instead of the Probie. Those Peggies wouldn’t fuck with her,” Pratt said,

“Pratt …” Hudson admonished.

“Why do you keep calling them, Peggies?” Asked Burke.

“Project at Eden’s Gate, P.E.G., Peggies. It’s what the locals call ‘em. You know they started off harmless enough a few years back. But now they are armed to the teeth, they’re looking for a fight,” Whitehorse uttered.

Burke assessed Whitehorse’s face, “Are you scared, Sheriff?” His tone was near taunting.

“We’re here, compound’s just below,” Pratt said as the helicopter lowered.

Great plumes of fire rose up into the night sky, scenting the air with the aroma of burning rubber and wood. Douglas tensed, as did Daphne, as did everyone in the chopper.

“Oh my Jesus,” Pratt mumbled.

“This is a bad idea,” Hudson added.

“Last chance, Marshal,” Whitehorse warned.

Burke sighed, deeply, slowly, “We’re going in,”

Daphne said a quick prayer to The Lord, asking him for guidance and strength, but mostly, she begged to make it out alive.

“Set her down,” Whitehorse said. And then after a moment of hovering in the air, “Pratt?”

“Roger that,” he answered despondently.

The helicopter landed, softly jostling everyone inside. Daphne once again felt the sticky, warm countryside air on her face and realized there was no turning back. Douglas breathed in deeply, closing his eyes and bracing himself.

“Dispatch, you still there?” Whitehorse asked.

“Yes, go ahead, Sheriff,” answered dispatch.

“If you don’t hear from us in fifteen minutes send in everyone. Call in the goddamn national guard if you have to, over,” Daphne unbuckled herself from her seat, trying to fight through her shaking hands. At the moment she was concerned about walking through a compound, being outnumbered, outgunned. But she was just a little more concerned with the Sheriff seeing her getting nervous.

Doug’s hand came down on her shoulder. “Stick with me. Eyes up, Daph,” he said.

She nodded, taking a breath to ease her nerves.

“Now listen up, three rules: keep close, keep your guns in your holsters, and let me do the talking, got it?” Whitehorse said.

“Got it,” The chopper replied in unison.

“Alright, let’s go,” Whitehorse said, throwing open his door.

Boots hit the ground, and the sickening feeling in Daphne’s stomach did not dissipate.

From all sides people looked at her. Dressed in their cult attire, guns in hand, Daphne tried to tell herself they weren’t anything more than gang. They were just like the homegrown terrorist groups she’d taken on before in her county. Misguided wretch, outcasts, social pariahs following the wrong man. They weren’t anything new.

At least that’s what she told herself.

Doug kept a watchful gaze on the guns trained on him. He fought the urge to tell Daphne to keep up when she trailed too far behind him. He didn’t want to undermine her in front of Whitehorse, but moreover, he didn’t want the Peggies to know much about her or show he had any inclination towards her. No name, no rank, nothing, Whitehorse advised. Because these people would and could use everything they had against them and he wasn’t taking chances.

“He’ll be in the church, stick close,” Whitehorse said, walking further up the dirt path.

Doug glanced behind him as Hudson and Daphne caught up. Daphne’s face was that of an awe struck child, as if she was seeing everything for the first time. Some part of him wished her county hadn’t sent her. But there wasn’t anything that could be done now.

Daphne walked close to him, her face still dumbfounded.

“Daph, look alive,” Doug said under his breath. “You don’t want these people to get the drop on you,”

Daphne shook her head, making her face more neutral, more unbothered.

They reached the church house. Burke reached for the door, pulling it open. But Whitehorse eased him.

“Woah, Marshal. Now we do this, we do this my way. Quietly, calmly, you got it?” Whitehorse said.

“Fine,” Burke relented.

“Hudson you watch our backs, don’t let any of these people get in,” Whitehorse said. Hudson nodded, standing with her back to the door, shotgun in hand.

Whitehorse then eyed the Park siblings. “Deputy, keep an eye on our ride. Rookie, on me,”

Daphne and Doug exchanged glances. They nodded to one another.

Whitehorse turned to Burke, “And you, just try not to do anything stupid,”

Marshal smirked, “Relax Sheriff, you’re about to get your name in the paper,”

“You’ll be fine,” Hudson said to Daphne as they stepped into the church.

Daphne scanned the pews of people who all sang in unison. Their voices shook the tiny shack as they sang Amazing Grace. One voice carried above all the others. Daphne knew in that moment who it was.

“Something is coming. You can feel it can’t you? That we are creeping towards the edge and there will be a reckoning,” Daphne steeled herself, anticipating whatever they had in store.

Her eyes traveled to the front of the room where Joseph Seed stood. The man didn’t strike her as special, aside from the shooter’s sunglasses and the shirtless preaching. But looks could be deceiving and often times were.

“That’s why we started The Project. Because we know what happens next. They will come, they will try to take from us. Take our guns. Take our freedom. Take our faith...we will not let them,” Joseph preached. “But we will not let them. We will not let their greed, or their immorality, or their depravity hurt us anymore!”

Burke butted in, only to be eased by Whitehorse.  

“Marshal-,”

“No, fuck this,” Burke produced the arrest warrant, shoving it in the face of Joseph. “Joseph Seed, I have a warrant issued for your arrest, on the suspicion of kidnapping with the intent to harm,” Burke folded up the warrant, placing it back in his pocket. “Now I want you to step forward and keep your hands where I can see them,”

“Go back to where you belong!” Shouted an angry cult member.

“Get out of here!” shouted another.

“There they are, the locus in our garden,” Joseph said, gesturing to the officers.

The members of the congregation surrounded Joseph, forming a protective barrier between him and the officers.

Daphne’s hand hovered over the side arm, her hands itching for the comfort of the smooth metal. Whitehorse spotted her gesture and frowned. “Hold on, hold on-,” he said, “Everybody just calm down!”

Daphne glared as her shoulders rubbing up against a few Peggies trying to physically force her out of the church.

“They’re come to take me. They’ve come to take me away from you. They’ve come to destroy all that we’ve built,” Joseph cried.

The Peggies shouted, threatening, yelling over the commands of Whitehorse. He ordered Burke to keep his pistol in his holster and told Daphne to do the same. Daphne’s eyes scanned the crowd, scanned the exits, scanned the weapons in everyone’s hands. Her mind told her to not to reach for her gun, but her instincts were telling her otherwise.

That’s when Joseph stepped down from the platform. That’s when two other men and a woman stepped out of the shadows and into the light, watching like supernatural guardians from afar. The Seed Family, all together.

“We knew this moment would come, we’ve prepared for this,” Joseph assured his congregation, “Go…Go. God will not let them take me,”

Daphne swallowed, moving forward to look Joseph in the eyes. Her gaze faltered momentarily to his family behind him. Their eyes were curious, focused. They marveled at Daphne, as if appalled and intrigued by her gal to touch The Father.

“And when the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come and see!”

The members of the congregation surrounded Joseph, forming a protective barrier between him and the officers.

Daphne’s hand hovered over the side arm, her hands itching for the comfort of the smooth metal. Whitehorse spotted her gesture and frowned. “Hold on, hold on-,” he said, “Everybody just calm down!”  
Daphne glared as her shoulders rubbing up against a few Peggies trying to physically force her out of the church.

“They’re come to take me. They’ve come to take me away from you. They’ve come to destroy all that we’ve built,” Joseph cried.

The Peggies shouted, threatening, yelling over the commands of Whitehorse. He ordered Burke to keep his pistol in his holster and told Daphne to do the same. Daphne’s eyes scanned the crowd, scanned the exits, scanned the weapons in everyone’s hands. Her mind told her to not to reach for her gun, but her instincts were telling her otherwise.

“Rook, put the cuffs on him,” Burke ordered.

Daphne held the handcuffs in her hands, staring at them and the space between her and Joseph’s hands. She closed the gap, slapping the cuffs onto his wrists. They clicked into place and Joseph breathed out, as if in to softly chuckle. He leaned in to whisper in Daphne’s ear, “Sometimes it’s better to leave well-enough alone,”

Daphne drew away from him, staring into the empty blue voids of Joseph’s eyes.

“Walk ‘em, Rook. Let’s go,” Burke said, giving the remaining Seed siblings a final glance before turning to the door.

Daphne nudged Joseph to walk and found him all too willing to comply. If her stomach had felt strange before, it was doing fucking backflips now. The church doors opened to a choir of a thousand angry voices.

Hudson walked up to Whitetail, “We gotta get the fuck outta here, now,”

Daphne looked for Douglas, finding him nowhere.

“Deputy Park’s in the chopper,” Hudson said, “Get moving,”

Daphne walked Joseph down the dirt path, ignoring the protests that were slowly becoming more and more violent. She kept her stare solely in front of her, ignoring the Peggies pitching garbage and rocks at her, ignoring the ones who followed right behind her to whisper vile threats and insults in her ear.

She felt her feet quickening their step without her permission, which wasn’t entirely unwelcome. Lowly, Joseph began to sing.

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound…” He lulled, momentarily distracting Daphne from the Peggies who were gathering behind her.

They reached the helicopter and Daphne pushed Joseph all too willingly into the waiting arms of her brother. Relief washed over her seeing her brother alive and well.

Hudson helped her and Whitehorse into the helicopter, just when she thought it was fine…

“Fucking Peggies, fuck fuck fuck,” Burke roared as they followed them to the helicopter.

“Pratt, get us outta here, now!”

“We’re too heavy!” Pratt yelled over the chaos as the chopper began it’s slow ascent.

Daphne turned too late as a Peggie gripped onto her leg, pulling her out the side of the helicopter. Daphne jerked her leg from the Peggie’s grip, but when that didn’t work she pulled her handgun, pressing it to the Peggie’s forehead, hoping it would scare them. And when it clearly haded, Daphne for the first time in her career as a deputy had killed someone.

The gun fire nearly deafened her, but the sudden release of hands from her leg was the most shocking of all and she watched as the Peggie’s lifeless body fell back to the earth and lied still. Her breaths came in ragged and in uneven intervals.

Joseph sang louder, practically wailing his song, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch, like me,”

Her eyes could only look in horror as a Peggie climbed the chopper and threw himself into the propeller of the helicopter, taking the aircraft down.

There was a split second that everything moved agonizingly slow. Daphne could have counted every lash on Burke’s eyes, read every tattoo on Seed’s body, looked at all the stars in the Montana sky. And then as if to catch up, time moved rapidly and gravity took hold, sending the helicopter and everyone in it hurtling towards the ground in a fiery mess.

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There isn't as much *plotadvancement* (hehe-hohum) in this chapter so, I apologize. I hope next time you all find exciting, because~!
> 
> After the opening you finally get to play in game. So expect less scripted events and more original story.
> 
> As always please leave a comment, even if it's like "Good story" or "I like this" or "Wow, way to erroneously copy the intro to a game no one asked for fan fiction of". I appreciate them and it drives me to update.

“...please, are you there? Are you there? Are you there, sheriff?”

Douglas’s ears could hear a voice over the radio. He knew generally who it was, but couldn’t remember where it was from. He wanted to tell the voice the helicopter went down, but…

Something in the edges of his vision glowed and flickered. Doug moved his arm, wincing from the pain, but felt it heavy and slow. He opened his eyes fully, looking at his surroundings.

Fire engulfed the edges of the chopper, close enough for the heat to nip at his cheeks. But he also noticed the flames pointed down. 

_ Fuck. _

Doug’s hands touched his belt, he struggled in a daze to unlatch himself from his seat.

“Deputy Hudson, if you’re there, please pick up,” he heard the radio squawk. 

Douglas jerked and pulled at the buckles, trying to get his hands and his brain to coordinate. Dispatch over the radio continued to speak. Douglas reached for the headset, stretching as far as he could for it. His fingers lightly brushed it and after another try, they gripped the headset. He could hear a low hum in his ears and a drum in his head. Maybe that’s why he didn’t even hear Joseph Seed singing mere inches away.

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch, like me…” Joseph sang. His hand gripped Douglas’s wrist and squeezed hard. Douglas clenched his teeth, trying in vain to wretch his arm away from Joseph.

The Father stared into Doug’s eyes, moving Doug’s hand off the headset as dispatch continued to beg for someone to respond. Joseph’s face was unreadable as he whispered, “I told you God wouldn’t let you take me.”

“Please, I need to know what’s going on,” begged Dispatch.

Joseph took the headset in his hands and spoke, “Dispatch,”

“Oh...my god,” 

“No need to send anyone. Everything is just fine here,” Joseph said, his voice monotone and low.

There was a heartbeat of silence, “Yes Father, praise be to you,” dispatch answered.

Douglas’s eyes narrowed as his hands flew to the buckles that kept him strapped in. He yanked and pulled with more vigor now, glancing back at the buckles and back to Joseph.

Joseph leaned in as Douglas struggled, “No one is coming to save you,”

The sound of tires crunching gravel on the road spiked Douglas’s heart beats. He turned to see Peggies peering into the remains of the helicopter.

Father then turned and walked out of the burning wreck into the arms of his followers. 

Douglas continued his assault on the buckles, feeling hope when one side popped open just enough to loosen. Around him his fellow officers began to slowly come to. 

Hudson’s eyes shot open, her eyes darted to Joseph and then to her surroundings. She cursed, her hands working the busted belt around her waist. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,”

Douglas saw Daphne and Burke doing the same. The Peggies began to swarm the helicopter, yanking Hudson from her seat. Her protests and cries were drowned out buy the Peggies kicking in the windshield of the helicopter and pulling Pratt from the burning wreck. 

Burke broke free from his restraints, just as the fire grew, separating them from the Peggies. He dropped from his seat, taking off into the woods.

“Daph!” Douglas yelled as the fire began to creep towards her. 

Daphne took a hand full of the belt on one side and pulled with all her strength. The buckle popped open and she fell to the ground, crawling her way to her older brother. Her hands tugged at Doug’s restraints, but her efforts were rejected as Douglas swatted her hands away.

“Go, go! Get out of the chopper,” he barked.

Daphne hesitated for a moment, but the fire growled and snaked its way into the cabin. She gave Douglas a mournful glance before she scrambled out of the wreck and into the dark woods.

Doug tried once more to unbuckle himself from the helicopter and finally- _ finally _ \- pulled himself free, hitting the ground with a solid  _ thud _ . He didn’t bother looking back as he darted into the trees. 

“Whoa, whoa, hey! They’re getting away!” shouted a Peggy as they opened fire. 

Doug felt the biting greeting of a bullet fly right past his leg. He fell to the ground in pain and in shock, but he forced himself to keep going. Finding his footing, he kept following the dirt path farther into the forest.  His heart was beating fast and the adrenaline in his veins burned him. 

He’d been in combat before and had hoped and prayed nothing close to it would ever happen again. It was part of his motivation for joining the force in Montana. Nothing ever happened here, Daphne told him. But right now Iraq was looking like a dream.

Douglas tried to distance himself from the violence and impending doom, instead trying to formulate a plan instead of succumbing to his nerves. Off in the distance was what seemed to be a shack. He judge from the lights it wasn’t more than fifty-yards off. And from the sounds coming from afar, he assumed it was also occupied. 

Without a weapon he was a sitting duck and his best bet was in that shack. 

Douglas paused, listening for any indication that the Peggies were on his trail before heading towards the shack. When he hadn’t, he started off in the direction of the lights, sticking to the tall grass and the bush. 

He crept up to the property, taking cover behind a rock. He could faintly make out a figure on the other end of the shack with it’s back turned. Doug searched in the dark for something heavy to ambush the person with, and to his advantage, found a wayward shovel. He picked it up, staying low, just out of sight. He ducked once more, steadying himself. His bullet grazed leg was throbbing something awful and Doug reminded himself to get it looked at the first chance he got.

But then he heard a soft thud and a heavier one, as if the person fell to the floor. 

Curiously, Doug popped up from behind cover and watched as the person’s body was dragged into the shack. 

Doug followed suit, keeping the shovel raised. 

He entered the dimly lit structure, trying to keep his footsteps light. In the back of the shack he heard struggling and a whispered curse that sounded familiar. Doug continued his approach, slowly. He peeked out from behind a crumbling wall, spotting a hunched over figure.

“Daphne?”

Daphne’s body jerked with surprise. She whipped around with wide eyes and her shocked expression melted into one of relief. 

“Oh my god, Doug,” she said giving him a firm but brief hug. “Doug they took Whitehorse. I couldn’t stop them-,”

“They got Pratt and Hudson too, have you seen Burke?” Doug asked.

Daphne shook her head, “He was in my sights for a little but he kept running right, I tried to follow but we got separated by the Peggies,” Daphne bent down back to the person on the floor. Doug could tell from the uniform it was another Peggie. He watched as Daphne took the Peg’s gun and walkie talkie. 

She stood, taking a deep breath, “Doug we have to get the fuck out of here, we need to get back up or something-,” 

“They have everyone hostage, Daph we can’t just leave,” Doug argued.

“Did you _not_ see the armed lunatics on our way in. Doug, I have a pistol with half a magazine and you have a  _ shovel _ . What fucking good are we gonna be against them?” Daphne said, “We have two options,  _ die _ or get help. Honestly this shouldn’t even be a decision right now,”

“We can’t abandon them,” 

“Who said we were?” Daphne sneered, “Just think about this for a second Doug, you’re-,” Daphne stopped mid sentence,  looking down, seeing the bright patch of red on Doug’s pant leg. “-You’re bleeding,” 

Doug looked down at his pants where a now large splotch of blood resided. He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s superficial,”

Daphne rolled her eyes. She looked past him at a table where a first aid kit laid. She opened the box, finding some cotton gauze and micropore tape. She held out the rolls out to him, “Cover that shit up before it gets infected. Maybe you can take a minute to think of where to get a car too, so we can get out of Hope County,”

“We’re not leaving,” Doug said firm, pulling up his pant leg to look at the wound. He set down the shovel against a table and propped his leg on the same surface.

Daphne huffed and let out a small defeated breath. She leaned against a wall, folding her arms.  “You’re a special kind of reckless, aren’t you?”

“Self-less you mean, sis,” Doug quipped, gently dabbing away some of the blood. The bullet grazed him, as he guessed, and it wasn’t as deep as he assumed, so that was a plus. But if he didn’t get actual treatment for it, he could easily be dead tomorrow from sepsis or otherwise. Quickly, he wrapped his leg, making sure the bandages were secure.

Daphne walked over again to the person on the floor, Doug peered at him.

“Is he-,”

“-Yes,” came Daphne’s curt reply.

“I was here when you dragged him inside, I didn’t hear you fire off a round,” He said.

Daphne pointed behind her with her thumb. Doug’s eyes looked around the room. In the corner he could see some piece of a pipe, laying haphazardly on the floor. It was covered in blood. Another look at the Peggie made Doug realize the back of their skull was caved in. 

He heard Daphne sniffle a little as she pulled a plastic tarp over the man. 

“Are you okay?” Doug asked her, softly. It was rare in any cop’s life to actually kill someone. Sure, the academy gave one all the training one would need to kill. But their duty was to protect and serve. And Doug knew how seriously Daphne took that oath.

Blessed were officers who never had to take a life to save another, Whitehorse always said.

Her back was turned to him and remained that way. 

“Yeah. I’m fine,” She replied, hollowly. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Doug prodded.

“No,” Daphne turned to face him, “I want to get out of here, Doug.”

He huffed and pulled the leg of his pants back down. “Let’s find Burke first at least,” 

Daphne nodded.

Doug opened his mouth to speak, but the walkie talkie cut him off. 

“Hello? Is anyone there? This is Burke...Hello?” Daphne and Doug stared at the walkie talkie. “If anyone’s there I’m headed this trailer. I’m gonna see if I can get in,” 

Daphne snatched up the walkie talkie, pinning it to her belt. “Your lucky day, Dougie,” 

Douglas picked up his shovel from the table, feeling more confident as held it in his hand. “Let’s go,”

The trailer was a little ways up the path. Daphne and Douglas walked quickly but carefully to it. 

As they reached the edge of the camp, Douglas spotted an entrance into the trailer. He nudged Daphne’s shoulder, making a few hand gestures to the entrance. 

Daphne cocked her gun, nodding.

Crouching, she continued ahead, sticking to the shadows. Doug followed suit after, keeping a watch on their back. He looked at Daphne and nodded once more, watching her as she continued up some shallow steps to the door of the trailer. 

She firmly threw her body into the door, breaking it open and gasped loudly as she was pulled inside. Doug followed quickly, raising the shovel to apprehend the Peggie. But when he stepped inside, he was looking into the face of a surprised Burke.

“You got Doug too. Thank God, Rook,” Burke said, relieved. He gestured for them to follow, “C’mon, c’mon,”

Daphne and Doug trailed behind, Doug keeping watch on their rear, Daphne checking their flanks. Burke pointed to a room, “Check the room, Rook,” he said.

Daphne gave the inside a quick glance, regrouping with the others. 

Burke led them into a wide open area, keeping low and away from the windows. 

“Oh Jesus, I had no idea. Fuck,” He said pointing to a portrait of the Seeds on the wall. He angrily snatched the picture off the wall, staring at it with contempt. “We’re putting’ this whole family away. All of ‘em. Fucking lunatics,” he snarled, tossing the portrait onto a table. 

Daphne leaned over to take a better look at the portrait as Doug followed Burke to the other side of the room. 

“We’re gonna get outta this, but first things first, we need to arm ourselves,” Burke took a semi-automatic rifle off the wall and inspected it, he handed it to Doug, “Here,” he said. 

Doug dropped the shovel, taking the rifle in his arms and checking for ammo. He looked over at Daphne and whistled, sharp and brief. Daphne crossed the room over to them. Burke saw the gun in her hand and handed her a magazine. 

“Alright, here’s what we’re gonna do,” Burke said, looking out a window, “There’s a road out there. We’re gonna take it, we’re gonna head northeast. It’s probably only a few hours back to Missoula. And then we’re gonna come back here with the goddamn National Guard and we’re gonna take out the rest of these-,”

“-Came around this way, check inside the trailers,” said an unfamiliar voice.

“Okay, shhh,” Burke nodded his head to the window behind him. Doug made his way over as Daphne covered the window next to Burke. 

A shower of bullets came sailing through the window, breaking through the glass like tissue paper. Doug took the initiative, opening fire on any Peggies he saw. Daphne was more conservative with her ammunition, letting the Peggies a little too close for comfort to shoot in Doug’s opinion. 

“Cover me,” Burke yelled, running outside to dispatch any staggering Peggies.

“Daph, get a move on,” Doug yelled, lending suppressing fire as Burke and Daphne made their way across the trailer clearing to a truck. 

Doug kept pulling the trigger until it answered him with a meek click, then it was all up to him to see how fast he was. He jumped out the broken window, just as Burke was blaring the horn to the truck. 

“What the fuck are you doing, we gotta get the hell outta here!” He yelled.

Doug tossed his gun into the bed of the flatbed truck, jumping in after it. 

Burke sped away, leaving behind the trailer clearing as more Peggie trucks rolled up to the scene.

Doug peered into the truck, seeing Daphne in the passenger side and Burke at the wheel. Daphne worked her way to the back of the truck’s cab and passed Doug magazines for his assault rifle. She pointed right behind him, “Peggies in bound!” she shouted over the roar of the wind.

Doug turned to see a big white truck gaining speed on them. He quickly reloaded his gun and opened fire. Daphne ducked back in, just as the Peggies returned the favor. 

A well placed shot send the truck veering off the road, but the victory was short lived as Burke moaned, “Oh no, oh no,” Daphne turned, looking ahead of them. 

“They got the roads blocked!” Burke said.

Daphne leaned out once more, seeing the trucks and road blocks put in the way. She aimed her pistol, firing out into the Peggies up ahead hoping to, at the very least, scatter them. 

Burke drove right through the block, Daphne barely getting inside the truck in time to avoid the debris. 

She glanced over her shoulder, still seeing Doug upright and watching their backs. “Keep ‘em off us, Park!” Burke said as he continued down the road. 

He was nearly pushing one-hundred now and the Peggies kept coming. Daphne could only do so little with the few shots she had and wished she had a bigger gun. 

The sound of an aircraft froze the blood in Daphne’s veins as she peered outside the truck and into the sky.

“Are you fucking kidding?” She seethed.

Burke’s eyes went wide, “They got fucking airsupport?” 

A torrent of bullets rained down on the truck, missing them by a fraction of a hair. Burke pushed the truck faster, trying to escape the Peggies from above. 

“This is horseshit,” Burke exclaimed, making a sharp turn. 

In the truck bed, Douglas held off the pursuing Peggies as well as he could, but his ammunition was running low, as was his accuracy. He raised his rifle, aiming for the Peggie driver when a shot rang out. Douglas recoiled and dropped to the truck bed, clutching his shoulder. 

“Doug?” Daphne called out, her voice dripping with worry.

“I’m hit,” Doug called back, getting to his knees. He aimed, fighting against the pain as he shouldered his rifle and felt the sting of anger when the rifle responded with an impotent click. “Dry back here!” he yelled, leaning just out of eyesight of the Peggie’s truck.

“We’re getting close to the bridge!” Daphne yelled as Burke gunned it for the crossing. But the planes still followed. Doug tracked them overhead, watching in horror as they circled back around, flying directly over them.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no,” Burke screamed as the explosives destroyed the bridge. 

The truck plunged into the Henbane river. The shock of the cold water stung and paralyzed every muscle in Doug’s body. It wasn’t long before the truck was totally submerged.

Doug was the first one out of the truck. He swam around the other side, watching as Burke kicked and pushed his way to the surface. Doug looked into the truck and saw Daphne’s unconscious body, pinning between the smashed front of the truck and the seat.

Doug swam over, pulling the truck’s passenger door wide open. Through the murky, dark water, he located Daphne’s leg and gave it a gentle tug. When it wouldn’t give, Doug pulled harder until there was a  _ pop  _ and the leg came free from the wreck. 

Prying her free and putting her over his shoulder, he kicked for the surface. He could see the search lights up ahead and could hear the planes scanning the water for him, but he didn’t care too much. Not when his sister was unconscious and not when his lungs were burning for air. 

His head broke the surface of the water and Doug took two very deep breaths before he took a moment to survey his surroundings. He could feel the water pushing them both downstream. The current pulled them away from Burke, and in the distance Douglas saw a party on the shore fish Burke from the river. 

Doug winced, hearing Burke’s protests. 

A few yards away, he saw the pebbly shore. If he could make it, he could help Daph and they could plan something. If he could make it. 

Douglas in that moment felt helpless and weak. His arms and his legs kicked but it felt as if he was going nowhere. His body might as well have been made of lead weights. He had to put Daphne down. If he didn’t he’d drown them both. 

Using the last of his strength, he paddled them both to shore, feeling more hopeful as his feet scraped against the rocky river bed. Lying her down on the ground, Douglas breathed raggedly. He got back into the water, trying to remain concealed for the time being. He held firmly to a large rock, keeping an eye out for Peggies. The current was gaining in strength now, pushing firmly against him. It took all the power he had left to stay firmly latched on.

Douglas watched as his sister stirred and coughed. He felt a wave of relief wash over him as she coughed more violently and turned to her side to expel the water she had swallowed. If catching pneumonia was the worst thing that happened to her on this mission, they’d all be lucky. 

She sat up slowly, looking around dazed. 

“Doug?” She rasped, searching the darkness for him. 

“Daph-,”

His reply was cut short by the rustling of bushes and hushed voices.

“I saw something down here,” said a voice, and flashlights followed.

“Shit,” Daphne whispered, staggering to her feet. 

“Wait, Daph,” But his grip had slipped from the rock he had anchored himself to and the river carried him away from his sister.

“Daph...” He wheezed, trying to paddle back to her.

Douglas felt his arms and legs beat against the current of the water, but they didn’t get his anywhere. No matter how hard he pushed himself, his sister grew farther and farther, eventually becoming a small speck, yards away. 

_ Please, God, don’t let those psychopaths find her,  _ he thought. 

The current picked up, whisking Douglas farther downstream. The sound of rushing water was enough to confirm the sinking feeling he already had in his head. 

_ Waterfall. _

Douglas frantically looked around for something to grab onto, something, anything that would save him from a watery grave. 

In the distance was an overgrown tree limb, poking out just above the river. Douglas stuck his arm out in an effort to grab hold of it. The river carried him right under it and Doug pushed himself out of the water just enough to grip onto the tree branch. But his grip wasn’t stable enough and his hand slid off the branch. 

The water began churning now, the swells covering splashing over him. Doug braced himself as the river began to turn and throw him around. The swells engulfed him, sending him far under the water as it flowed down hill. 

In the cold and cloudy water, Douglas could only faintly make out shapes and objects. He could make out the quickly approaching pointed rock up ahead. He just couldn’t do anything except hit it...


End file.
